Association of Zoos And Aquariums Secures New Partners By Promoting Animal Conservation

As the first company to partner with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ SAFE program, Frito-Lay North America, Inc. is leveraging animal conservation to drive sales of its newly rebranded Frito-Lay 2 Go variety snack packs. more...

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums has secured more than $300,000 in incremental revenue since launching a new marketing platform that highlights how its members help save animals in the wild.

Partners include Alex and Ani, Frito-Lay and Fishflops, a marketer of nautical-themed footwear. The AZA also is putting the final touches on a new partnership with a company in the insurance category.

The SAFE (Savings Animals from Extinction) campaign represents AZA’s first-ever initiative that highlights how its member institutions help save animals in the wild, an issue of growing importance to millennials. The AZA and its members are leveraging their collective power to identify threats, develop action plans, raise new resources and engage the public in animal conservation.

In addition to promoting its members’ conservation efforts via a national campaign, SAFE represents another first: the AZA’s first national sponsorship platform.

While the AZA has created national sponsorship packages in the past—namely around “Boo at the Zoo” Halloween events—the association had to secure individual assets from each member institution, a time-consuming effort that often resulted in an uneven distribution of inventory and high price tags.

“Some zoos had $2,000 programs, while others had $20,000 programs. It was a disjointed program, and the price got too expensive,” said Jeff Dow, AZA director of marketing, member and client services.

The SAFE platform includes assets ranging from tickets for consumer promotions to exposure in member newsletters, social media initiatives and other outreach efforts.

As an example, Frito-Lay is activating the partnership with an on-pack promotion for FL 2 Go variety packs (Cheetos, Doritos, Fritos, etc.) that offers a free children’s ticket to a participating zoo or aquarium.

“The SAFE platform makes it easier to go to a national company like Frito-Lay. The price will not go up or down, and there is a minimum level of recognition. Everyone is joined together in one program rather than hundreds of individual programs,” said Dow.

The platform offers a presence in front of 180 million annual visitors at more than 230 AZA member institutions, he said.

How Frito-Lay Is Using Sponsorship To Help Families Maximize Fun

May 23, 2016:

As the first company to partner with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ SAFE program, Frito-Lay North America, Inc. is leveraging animal conservation to drive sales of its newly rebranded Frito-Lay 2 Go variety snack packs.

The snack foods giant—which first partnered with the AZA in 2015—will activate the tie with a July-through-October on-pack promotion that dangles a free children’s ticket to a member AZA zoo or aquarium. The company ran a similar promotion last year.

Frito-Lay also is promoting the variety packs through a new partnership with the Association of Science-Technology Centers. Like the AZA, the company is activating the tie with an on-pack promotion that dangles a free ticket to a participating science center or museum.

The two-month-long promotion wraps June 5th.

“The Frito-Lay 2 Go core consumers are active families who are looking to maximize their fun together. As Frito-Lay 2 Go is the brand that is literally made to go anywhere, we wanted to take our consumers anywhere and everywhere, turning each FL2Go product into a “fun pass” that unlocks amazing, one-of-a-kind experiences,” said Jeff Klein, Frito-Lay North America vice president of marketing.

The promotion offers the two organizations extensive reach. Case in point: Frito-Lay will tout the AZA on roughly 20 million products this year, up from roughly 17 million in 2015, said Jeff Dow, AZA director of marketing, member and client services.

“Exposure on 20 million packages is a major reason why we did the deal.”

Frito-Lay will enter consumers into a sweepstakes offering a behind-the-scenes experience at a local zoo or aquarium when they download their free AZA ticket at a dedicated web site, he said.

For its part, ASTC will use the sponsorship revenue to help cover transportation expenses to local science centers and museums, said Wendy Hancock, ASTC manager of professional development services. Roughly 130 of ASTC’s 350 U.S. members are participating in the program, she said.

In addition to the AZA and ASTC, Frito-Lay is helping families maximize fun via a new partnership with the Fandango movie ticket service. The company is offering one free children’s movie ticket with the purchase of two specially marked Frito-Lay 2 Go 20-count variety packs.

IEG Sponsorship Report

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